1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a discrimination object deflecting apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
A medal is a coin-like metal object which is used in a slot machine or the like in an amusement facility is normally rented to a player according to a price rate predetermined in a game parlor where a game is played. Moreover, the player is severely forbidden to take the medals out of the parlor. However, there are a lot of cases that some players rent medals from another parlor or take rented medals out of the parlor and use these medals in another parlor. As a result, there is a fear that another parlor""s medals are mixed in a medal game machine or a medal rental machine in the parlor.
At present, it is considered that the most effective means for discriminating proper medals of a specific parlor is to read the design of the medals which is unique to the parlor and extract its characteristic. The image processing apparatus using a solid state image sensing device which is now practical (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 11-177893 (1999)) can be applied to this medal discrimination. However, since this adopts frame reading for successively reading an area sensor section where pixels are arranged into two-dimensional matrix pattern per line and the image process is executed, there is a fear that the processing time becomes longer and the apparatus itself becomes large and expensive.
On the contrary, the applicants of this invention have already applied for a patent on a solid state image sensing device and on a form discrimination apparatus using the solid state image sensing device with fast processing speed which can be manufactured at lower price (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 11-351108 (1999)).
Meanwhile, it is necessary to sort medals or the like which are discriminated by the apparatus into the parlor""s medals and another parlor""s medals, and such a sorting apparatus is shown in FIG. 1 or in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 9-293154 (1997), for example.
As shown in FIG. 1, this apparatus has a passage 203 for continuously transferring medals 201 to be discriminated after the medals 201 are discriminated. An ejection passage 205 and a reject passage 207 are provided below the passage 203. A partition plate 209 is provided rotatively between the ejection passage 205 and the reject passage 207. When the discriminated medal 201 is the parlor""s medal, the partition plate 209 falls to the side of the reject passage 207 so as to block the reject passage 207, the medal 201 is taken out of the ejection passage 205. Moreover, when the medal 201 is judged as another parlor""s medal, the partition plate 209 is driven by a motor or the like so as to fall to the side of the ejection passage 205, and the medal 201 is taken out of the reject passage 207.
However, in the case where the medals 201 are discriminated by the discriminating apparatus that processing speed is extremely fast, since the medals 201 continuously move along the passage 203, the pivoting movement of the partition plate 209 between the ejection passage 205 and the reject passage 207 cannot follow the movement of the medals 201, the medal 201 bumps against the partition plate 209 during the pivoting movement so as to be jammed, and defective sorting possibly occurs.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a discrimination object deflecting apparatus which is capable of fast sorting for fast discrimination and of discriminating objects to be discriminated extremely quickly.
A first aspect of the present invention provides: a discrimination object deflecting apparatus, comprising; a discrimination section for continuously discriminating a moving object to be discriminated and generating a discriminating signal when the moving object is to be discriminated; a passage through which the object to be discriminated moves according to a discriminating speed of the discrimination section; a deflection passage connected to one side of the passage; a deflection drive section having an opening provided on an opposite side of the passage from the deflection passage and a deflection plate arranged in the opening of the deflection drive section; and a control section for controlling the deflection drive section according to the discriminating signal of the discrimination section. The deflection drive section is arranged to protrude the deflection plate into the passage and retract the deflection plate from the passage at high speed in response to the discriminating signal such that the object moving in the passage and to be discriminated is flipped by the deflection plate into the deflection passage upon protruding of the deflection plate into the passage.
A second aspect of the invention provides the discrimination object deflecting apparatus according to the first aspect, wherein the deflection drive section has a deflection plate which can appear on the passage, and a solenoid which appears and drives the deflection plate.
A third aspect of the present invention provides the discrimination object deflecting apparatus according to the first or second aspect, wherein the discrimination section has an area sensor section where pixels for photoelectric conversion are arranged two-dimensionally; the pixels have a photoelectric conversion section for imaging an optical image, a signal comparison section for comparing a signal electrified in the photoelectric conversion section with a reference signal and outputting the result and a signal holding section for holding an output signal of the signal comparison section, and the pixels use a solid state image sensing device, to which address lines are connected respectively for the pixels, and which specifies necessary address lines from the plural address lines and takes out signals into a data line only from the signal holding sections of the pixels specified based on the address signals from the specified address lines; the specified address lines correspond to concentric circles on a disc-shared object to be discriminated; the object to be discriminated being discriminated based on data on the concentric circles taken out by the address signals of the specified address lines. The pixels are arranged in a two-dimensional matrix along the passage for moving disc-shaped objects to be discriminated at a constant speed. The position of the center of a disc-shaped object to be discriminated moving along the passage at the constant speed is determined on the area sensor section according to the position of a pixel that first forms an image of the disc-shaped object to be discriminated among the pixels of the area sensor section.
According to the first aspect of the invention, the deflection drive section is driven by the control of the control section according to the discriminating signal of the discrimination section so that the object to be discriminated can be selectively flipped towards the deflection passage. Therefore, the object to be discriminated is taken out of the deflection passage connected to the one side of the passage so as to be capable of being sorted quickly according to the fast discrimination, and as a result high-speed discrimination can be executed.
According to the second aspect of the invention, in addition to the effect of the first aspect, since the deflection plate which appears and is driven by the solenoid flips the object to be discriminated, the object to be discriminated can be sorted more accurately and quickly.
According to the third aspect of the invention, in addition to the effects of the invention of the first and second aspects, an optical image of the object to be discriminated is imaged by the photoelectric conversion sections of the pixels, and the signal which becomes in the photoelectric conversion section is compared with the reference signal by the signal comparison section, and the output signal of the signal comparison section is held in the signal holding section. Necessary address lines are specified from the address lines connected respectively to the pixels, and the signals held in the signal holding sections are taken out into the data line based on the address signals from the specified address lines. Therefore, a signal is not taken out from all the pixels of the area sensor section but a signal can be taken out from the specified pixel. For this reason, discrimination or the like of a form of the object to be detected is enabled by the signals of the specified pixels without providing an image processing circuit or the like, and thus a processing speed can be heightened. Further, the address lines on the concentric circles of the disc shaped object to be detected are specified, and the object to be detected can be discriminated based on data on the concentric circles taken out by the address signals of the specified address lines so that the discrimination can be made accurately at high processing speed without executing an image process. Therefore, the discrimination section which is capable of making the accurate discrimination at the high processing speed and the deflection drive section are combined so that the discrimination at the high processing speed is overall enabled.